ORIGINAL: npaden
I'm pretty sure the state fish and game departments of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado have been feeding elk and deer for decades now on their winter ranges. It is not a new thing. I guess the states of NH, Maine and NY (where there are no elk) know alot more about it though. When people moved in to the valleys and build fancy houses, etc. there were no longer the normal wintering grounds for the elk and deer. The meadows are cut for hay for cattle long before the snow falls. As far as density, they count those elk herds in their winter ranges in the thousands not in 40's and 50's. It takes a lot more than a pile of corn to feed them.
Agreed, as Imentioned at the start of this. I doubt that there are very few large valley in the Rockies that doesn't have man's development in it. That's why groups like the RMEF is constantly working toprotect large tracks of winter range for the wildlife before developers fillthem with houses.